Malibu

 In terms of museums, there are a lot of choices in L.A.  The Getty was high on my list, but since we had already had the scenic view of L.A. from the observatory, and since we wanted to see Malibu, I decided on the Getty Villa, which houses Greek, Roman and Etruscan treasures in a gorgeous villa with a breathtaking view of the Malibu coast.  Victor's dad works at the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano in Merida.  I bet he would have loved to see the Getty Villa with us.  We'll for sure have to go back there next time the Altieri family is in the States.

 Victor and Ruby often ended up on Tolly duty, much to the little boy's delight.  They spent a big chunk of time in the children's room where there were interactive things for kids to do.

 Emperor Trajan

 Golda, Ptolemy and Nemo had the chance to work on a mosaic project which will be displayed at a local school.

 Watching the group pose for this picture, I felt a surge of love for them, as well as appreciation that they are all so kind, so patient with Ptolemy, and so happy.  Traveling with them was effortless, yet bittersweet, knowing that our perfect group would be together for such a brief time.  Not to worry, the kids have major plans for their next trip...and the next...and the next.

 I talked to a couple of docents at the museum who gave me the perfect idea for lunch.  I wanted to go further up the Malibu coast, but I was worried that there wouldn't be anywhere affordable for lunch.  The ladies advised me to look for La Salsa, and it was the perfect choice.  Lucky again!  We ate some great Mexican food on the trip, the best of it probably in Malibu at La Salsa.  All the other customers were Latino, so we knew the food would be good and authentic, and it was also cheap. Score!

 Oh, just lunching in Malibu!

Our intention was to spend the afternoon at the beach at Topanga State Beach, where we would have a great view of Pacific Palisades and Malibu.  I felt bad because I had forgotten to tell Victor to bring his swimsuit, and he had to swim in his shorts.  True to character, he didn't complain, allowing us to enjoy a perfect afternoon.

 Ptolemy and his heart throb, Olympe.  ;)

 Topanga is rocky in areas, so it has tide pools full of crabs and other fun things to discover.  Ptolemy met some kids and could have stayed there for days.

 Chloe and Olympe prepared a delicious French meal for us with chicken and a potato gratinois.  They left part of it for Philippe, too.  It was wonderful!

 We were so content and sunkissed that we spent the rest of the night at the loft, until the kids got energized at about 10 and went out looking for a McDonald's, or as it's called in France, "Mac Doh."  Olyme and Chloe take it a step further, putting it into a French pig latin that they use.  So now we call McDonald's "Doh Mac."

The best thing, my favorite thing, about being the chaperone for this group, is hearing them all laugh, and there was a lot of that, especially late at night.  Have I mentioned that I love these kids?